via www.footballbabble.com

Hey, remember Michael Turner?

Of course you do. He was inarguably the biggest piece of the offense most weeks, and even when he wasn't doing well he remained the kind of nebulous threat that forces teams to do extra planning. When he was on, Turner was like a human jet engine. The addition of Tony Gonzalez has been cause for us all to break out our favorite celebratory drinks, but the Gainesville Times is absolutely correct to say that Turner remains a focal point of the offense.

Simply put, this is a team that is going to put the ball on the ground. Matt Ryan is a year older and a year better with a new weapon, but I doubt that will translate into a massive jump in production. Modest gains are to be expected, enough to take a little pressure off the Burner, but the Falcons are going to let that development curve continue its steady uptick. That means an easy 300+ carries for Turner, who may have even better luck if rookie run-blocking machine Garrett Reynolds gets a few starts at right tackle.

Not that anyone's forgotten about Turner, but let's look for another great year from last season's prized free agent. At the end of what hopefully will be a winning season, we'll likely appreciate him more than ever.